


Blazing Wind

by C_C_M



Series: The Blazing Wind Arc [1]
Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: AU, Alternate Future, Alternate Universe, Blood and Violence, Drama, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Original Character(s), RiverClan (Warriors), ShadowClan (Warriors), The Prophecies Begin: Book 1: Into the Wild, The Prophecies Begin: Book 2: Fire and Ice, ThunderClan (Warriors), WindClan (Warriors), WindClan Firestar AU, WindclanFirestar
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 06:48:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29006322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/C_C_M/pseuds/C_C_M
Summary: What if Rusty joined WindClan, not ThunderClan? A new story to tell, new adventures, and new friends and foes.A new prophecy that could change the fate of many or end it sooner then they hoped.This is the tale of Rusty joining WindClan, this is the story of the Blazing Wind.
Relationships: Firestar/Morningflower (Warriors)
Series: The Blazing Wind Arc [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2127912
Comments: 1
Kudos: 20





	1. Prologue

The golden rays of the sun were disappearing behind the Highstones as night came. 

A tall black and white cat walked beside his medicine cat as they made their way to the Moonstone.

"Barkface, do you think WindClan will survive? ShadowClan's attacks are getting more relentless than ever. I fear that our younger apprentices will never get the chance to become warriors".

Both of them stopped to stood at the top of a hill that changed into hard stone. The medicine cat, Barkface, turned to face the tom who had spoken to him.

"I know your worried, Tallstar. But those are better questions for StarClan to answer. Only they might have the answer you seek," he replied.

Tallstar sighed and looked up at the sky.

"For once, Barkface, I hope your right. WindClan will need the help of our ancestors to help us in our time of need. I fear for our clan's future," he meowed and got to his paws, "The moon's almost in position, we should get going".

Together they ran down the hill all the way at the bottom where they could feel stone beneath their paws.

The two traveling cats finally stopped at the entrance of where the Moonstone slept.

"Follow me, I'll lead the way," Barkface said, flicking his tail for Tallstar to follow. 

Although Tallstar didn't always like being told what to do, he still respected his medicine cat. After all, they had been friends since they were young kits. Part of him longed for the days when times were still peaceful. 

The darkness of the tunnel brought back memories of the old days, when his clan used to tunnel beneath the territory. More often then not, Tallstar tried his best not to think too much of the past.

The tunnel opened up to a cave that was not fully lit by moonlight. I could barely make out anything.

"Are you sure that the moon will show tonight?" asked Tallstar. 

Without any warning, the moon shone down through the tiny hole in the clearing and made the Moonstone lit up.

Bright, blue light filled the room, Tallstar blinked a couple of times at the blinding light and then stepped forward. 

"I hope I can still speak to StarClan, do you think they will listen to the pleas of a leader? It's been so long since I asked them for there advise," Tallstar asked Barkface.

"I'm sure they will, after all, you are WindClan's leader," meowed Barkface. Tallstar gave a swift nod in return.

Tallstar laid down and touched the surface of the Moonstone, it's cold exterior of it felt like ice. But soon, sleep came to close his eyes. He welcomed it and succumbed to a deep slumber.

Tallstar opened his eyes again and realized that he was StarClan's territory. Tallstar knew that StarClan shared their hunting grounds with every cat no matter from which clan they came from before StarClan.

It would always be peaceful, a place where all cats could meet in peace. A faint breeze of heather on the wind caught his attention, the smell was a sign to let a cat know that the ancestors of WindClan had arrived.

He wasn't sure if any of them would want to come to his aid. 

"Greetings, Tallstar".

Tallstar quickly turned around to see that it was his father Sandgrose. Much like the other cats that hunted forever in Sliverpelt, their age never showed. His father looked happy to see him.

"I'm glad you decided to come. It has been a long time since I gave one of your nine lives," Sandgrose meowed.

Tallstar felt so much like a kit again and was quick to greet his father. "I've missed you, it has been a while since I last visited you. I need to ask you for your advice".

"Oh? What sort of advice?" his father asked.

"I fear WindClan is in danger. Brokenstar is relentless and I fear that he'll destroy our clan. I've been working so hard to protect them. What should I do?" Tallstar asked.

Sandgrose sighed. "I hear your pain, my son. But even in the darkest moments, a blazing wind will save the clan," he meowed.

Tallstar looked at his father confused "But fire is feared by all the clans, how could it save WindClan?" asked Tallstar and then his father chuckled.

"Fire is something that you don't always have to fear. You will know what I mean sooner then you think," he said softly in his ears and then faded away from his sight.

It wasn't long before Tallstar walked out of the tunnel of the Moonstone with Barkface followed behind him.

"So did you speak with StarClan?" Barkface asked, who had been quiet until now.

Tallstar shook his head and then spoke. "I did, but I don't want to talk about it at this time, I will share with you another time," Tallstar meowed.

Tallstar and Barkface quickly crossed the Thunderpath and then continued to walk towards WindClan's camp.

What did Sandgorse mean? How could fire save WindClan? Tallstar tried to think why, but nothing would pop up.

Then something reminded him of what his father had told, so many moons ago.

“I couldn't be more proud of you, Tallstar. Go well, lead strongly, and protect WindClan from the storms that lie ahead.

For they will come, no matter what StarClan does. And there will be a kit, kin of your dearest friend, who will need your help more than he knows.

Watch over him, guide his paws, for he is important to all the Clans.  
I can say no more, but you will know this cat when you see him.

Just remember, there is no need to be afraid of every flame. Fire can bring life, warmth, new growth, as well as death”.

He gasped as his flashback ended and Barkface looked at him very worried.

"Are you alright, Tallstar? You almost blacked out, was it a sign from StarClan?" he asked as Tallstar picked himself off the ground.

"Sort of, but now the future of our clan lies in what StarClan has shared with me," he rasped and then looked at Barkface.

"The blazing wind will save the Clan".


	2. Ch: 1 The Dream

The sky was darkened by shadows, the wind had the strong scent of heather as it blew across the landscape.

The grassy fields was lit up by moonlight, chasing away most of the darkness that threatened the moor. 

Rusty was on the hunt for prey, he could feel wet dew from the grass on his paws.

Nearby was a rabbit eating grass a few tail-lengths away. Without waiting, Rusty dashed towards it. His claws were ready to dig into the soft pelt of the rabbit. 

But the sound of his collar alerted the rabbit and began run as fast as it could.

Rusty gave chase to it. The faster he went, he felt his heart thumping harder in his chest. It felt so right, feeling the rush of wind blow through his fur.

He was so close to catching it when he saw he was approaching the gorge. Rusty skidded to a halt, nearly falling into the ravine below.

The rabbit was nowhere to be found.

Frustrated, Rusty was about to return to the moor in disappointment when the other side of the gorge burst into flame. His fear overwhelmed him. He had never seen such a large blaze of fire.

What really scared him was the large tabby cat made from the flames that had blazing amber eyes staring at him from the other side.

A chilling voice spoke from its jaws. "The blazing wind will save..." 

Rusty woke up before he could hear the end of the message. He could feel his heart was still thumping hard in his chest. He realized he was back in his housefolk's home.

It must of been a nightmare, Rusty thought and then looked towards the window. The sky was still darkened by night and the stars were shining brightly.

Since he could not shake his nightmare away from his head, he decided to stay up instead of going back to sleep again. He quickly stretched his legs and walked towards his water bowl.

When he finally got to his bowl, he quickly lapped up the water. Normally he would drink from the puddles outside when it rained. But it was much easier to drink from here. His food was not much better, he never really enjoyed the food his housefolk would give him.

The nightmare still lingered in his mind, he still could not make any sense out of it. 

Maybe if I go for a walk I will clear my mind a bit. It worked before the last time I had nightmares.

He found the cat flap that lead outside and went through it. The garden outside was full of strong scents of different kinds of flowers.

There was also one tall tree and a few bushes as well. Surrounding the garden were three, white fences. Rusty went to the fence at the end of the garden and lept onto it.

After steadying himself on top of the fence post, he could see a clear view of the forest. Beyond the forest, he knew was the moor.

He remembered when his father used to visit him, his mother, and Rusty's siblings about his of meeting with a wild cat and how they went on adventures beyond the safety of his home. 

He often said that his friend smelled strongly like the scent of the moor, the smell of heather. 

Perhaps the dream is guiding me to the moor, but why I'm I needed there? I'm a housecat. 

"Rusty, what are you up to?" Rusty's thoughts broke away when he turned to see it was his friend, Max.

He was a black tom with amber eyes. But he looked too harmless to hurt a fly. Max was one of many house cats that refused going out into the unknown.

"Nothing much, I'm thinking of visiting the moor," he replied. Max looked at him with worry. "Are you sure it's a good idea? There are wild cats out there!" he yowled.

"But aren't they like cats like us? Why should I be afraid of them?" Rusty questioned his friend. Max hesitated for a moment and then spoke.

"Because Chakra says that those wild cats would kill anyone that dared to enter their territory". Rusty could not believe what his friend was saying.

"Do you always believe what Chakra says? She has never even ventured out beyond the forest, how would you know what she had seen?" Rusty spat, scaring Max so much that he almost fell off the fence trying to give Rusty space.

"But she told me that she got a robin while hunting in the forest...," Max meowed. Rusty was having trouble controlling his anger now.

"Forget about her! I'm going to the moor if you like it or not!" he growled, this time making Max fall onto his side of the fence.

Max did not say a word and quickly dashed to the safety of his own home. Once he was inside, Rusty turned to face the forest again.

Rusty hesitated for a moment and then jumped down to the other side of the fence.

When Rusty regained the balance of his legs, he walked towards the forest. Already he could smell the scent of heather lingering on the wind.

I'm sure a am not too far away, it should not take long for me to get to the moor by my self.

He continued to follow the scent until he saw a mouse, he took no chances to ignore it.

Rusty dashed towards it, but his collar rang out and made the mouse run in terror. He was not going to give up so early and continued to run after it.

The mouse was fast, Rusty almost lost it as he tried to keep up through the twisting trees.

Suddenly he was stopped by such a strong force that he was knocked to the ground. His vision was blurry for a moment and then when it was cleared, he saw three, large wild cats looking down at him.

The biggest of them was a dark brown tabby, his amber eyes were narrowing at him. In his claws, Rusty quickly saw that he had killed his mouse.

"Well, Well, Looks like we have a lost kittypet trying to hunt in our territory," he spat and his shadow towered over Rusty.


	3. Ch: 2 Escape

The only thing that Rusty could feel was fear, he was not expecting them to be close to the size that Max had told him about. He knew that he would have to do something if he wished to escape his current situation. Rusty knew he would have to play it safe if he was going to get out alive.

"I didn't know that you lived here in the forest," Rusty lied, hoping they would fall for it.

But none of the wild cats seemed to believe him, their eyes were still narrowed at him. "Why should we believe you? You can't trick us like that, kittypet!" the large, dark brown tom spat a name that must be one of the many insults that they had for cats living with housefolk.

The three cats came closer to him and showed him their teeth.

"Let's kill him, Bluestar will never know," the large dark grey tabby tom said, who was a few tail lengths away from Rusty.

The pale brown tom didn't look very sure. "But what about hunting? We were sent out to hunt the prey for the clan," he protested and the dark brown tom looked away from Rusty and tossed his piece of prey to him.

"Take it to the clan, tell Bluestar that I and Darkstripe are still hunting. But don't tell her about the kittypet, got that?" he spat at the tom.

He did bat an eye to Rusty and without another word, he ran away with the mouse in his jaws. Disappearing into the forest.

The large brown tabby tom turned to Rusty again, Rusty could see the lust for blood and the burning hate that was in his eyes.

Rusty knew he had to run, but the way back to his den was too long a travel.

The large brown tom pounced on top of Rusty, pinning him down. His weight made it hard for him to move.

"It's a shame that you're so weak, now you'll always be remembered as nothing," he hissed in his ears.

Panicked, Rusty took the risk and slashed his claws across the tom's face before he could sink his teeth into his neck.

He yowled in pain and released his grip on Rusty's body.

With all of the energy he had left in him, Rusty made a run for it.

From behind he could hear both of them were trying to follow him as fast as they could.

Rusty knew that his only chance of survival was to run, but which way? He looked around his surrounding area. There was a way out, but he had to risk being closely followed by them. There was no time, he had to do it before they could catch him.

Rusty did not look back, but he did not know if they had stopped chasing him.

Even as leaves from the bushes whacked him in the face, he was determined to escape the forest.

He ran further than he ever had before, passing by four mighty oaks. All in an effort to save himself from death.

After running long and far, he rested under a huge rock that pointed towards the sky.

He was far from the dangerous forest and closer to the moor.

The smell of heather made him remember of his younger days as a kit, when his father would visit him and his siblings to tell stories of his travels.

It reminded Rusty that he had made friends with a cat from the moor and had smelled of heather. Always saying that he was the greatest friend he ever had.

Was it possible that I was destined to meet him?

Rusty's ears twitched when he heard movement in the grass, the wind brought a different scent that wasn't heather. What was it?

Without any warning, something tugged Rusty down. The breath was knocked right out of him. He struggled to breathe for a moment, his heartbeat began to beat fast again.

Rusty was quick to kick out his back legs and managed to throw off what had landed on him. He turned around to see a cream coloured she-cat with blazing amber eyes that were narrowed at him.

"Who are you?" Rusty growled as a warning, trying not to be afraid of this cat. Her amber eyes narrowed at him angrily. "You think I would tell a kittypet like you about who I am?" she hissed and leaped forward towards him.

Rusty quickly got out of her way and then tried to look at her again. "I don't mean you any harm, I was attacked and chased away by other cats like you," he meowed, trying to let her know what had happened.

She finally sat down and then sheathed her claws. "If your meaning by ThunderClan or RiverClan, then there always like that," she said, giving out a loud yawn.

Rusty gave her a puzzled look. What does she mean by Clans?

"Morningpaw, how many times have I told you not to run off?" both of them turned their heads to see a black and white tom. A black tom with a twisted left paw followed him from behind.

"Tallstar, I'm sorry I did not tell you first about scenting this kittypet," she meowed bowing her head. Rusty gulped and looked towards the black and white tom. His amber eyes looked towards Rusty.

But they weren't threatening at all. They instead had warmth in their eyes. Something seemed familiar about him, but Rusty couldn't decide what it was about him.

"You did a good job of defending yourself from Morningpaw," he quickly meowed to the apprentice before turning to face Rusty again.

"You are the strangest kittypet I have ever met," he murmured as he gave one last look and then looked at the other tom.

"Should we let him join our clan?" Tallstar asked his deputy.

Join them?

"Tallstar, you can't be serious. We can't let him join our clan, he's just a kittypet," Deadfoot protested and then Tallstar spoke.

"I know what you may feel right now, but WindClan needs more warriors, even if they're just kitttypets," he said and then looked at Rusty.

"I can see potential in you. Will you join us?" he asked".

Rusty hesitated. "I don't...I--," Rusty said, stumbling with his wording.

Tallstar turned to his deputy.

"Take the kittypet towards Twolegplace. Deadfoot will wait for your answer tomorrow," he murmured and his deputy flicked his tail for Rusty to follow.

"Bye, kittypet," Morningpaw meowed as she followed in behind Tallstar. Rusty turned his head to follow Deadfoot, who lead him towards what they call Twolegplace.

By the time they had reached the end of the moor, the sun was high into the sky. Deadfoot stopped walking and then looked back at Rusty.

"This is as far as I can take you, hopefully, you can find your way," Deadfoot meowed as Rusty took a few paces ahead of him.

"I shall be waiting tomorrow evening for your answer," he meowed and Rusty shook his head in return.

"Will do," Rusty replied as Deadfoot's tail flicked to show his last goodbye. Very soon, Rusty knew he was going to be a wild cat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologizes if this is too short, I'm still having a hard time getting used to writing longer characters for the fanfic projects that I've working on.


	4. Ch: 3 Onto The Moor

The next day came and it was as beautiful as yesterday had been. For Rusty, this was the day he had to decide if he wanted to go and join the wild cats on the moor.

His housefolk had already left for the day and had left food for him in his bowl. He stared at his food bowl for a long time. 

What would life be like out there in the wild? I'm sure my housefolk would miss me.

Rusty shook his head and then decided to take a drink of water instead of eating from his food bowl.

I should go, I wouldn't want to stay here too long and keep Deadfoot waiting. Rusty wiped the water off of his chin and then walked towards the cat flap.

Outside, the smell of the flowers was strong, but he was more looking forward to smelling the new scents of the moor.

When Rusty got to the fence, he lept onto the post. He turned his head to the right to see that Max was waiting for him.

Rusty still remembered what happened yesterday.   
I should do the right thing, to make up with him. 

"Hi Max, I'm sorry about yelling at you yesterday," Rusty meowed.

His friend was silent for a moment. 

Is he mad at me for being rude to him? 

"I...forgive you Rusty, I should have respected you better yesterday, but did you happen to see any wild cats?"

Rusty told Max everything, about the mean forest cats and of the less mean moor cats. "I felt so free on the moor, it was if the wilderness was calling out to me. I don't want to stay here for the rest of my life and become like Chakra. They asked me about joining their clan".

Sadness filled Max's eyes. "But I won't see you anymore, what if those moor cats are lying to you?" his friend asked him.

"They're good cats, different than the forest cats that wanted to kill me. I don't think they were lying at all. I'm still going to go and join them, but I will always remember you, Max."

Max's eyes cleared of sadness."I can't stop you from following what you think is right, I would never want you to feel trapped," Max replied.

"Thank you," Rusty meowed and lept off the fence to head into the forest. "Rusty!" he heard Max's voice yowl and turned to get one last look at his friend.

"No matter where you are, well always be friends".

By the time Rusty got to the moor, the sun was about to set. The sun shone down on the grass, making it almost like the grass on fire. Strangely it almost reminded him of the strange dream he had the night before.

"I see you're enjoying the sunset, did you forget I would be waiting for you?" Rusty turned around to see that Deadfoot was standing behind him.

Beside Deadfoot was another warrior he had not seen before, this made Rusty very worried. 

"Don't worry about him kittypet, this is Emberblaze," Deadfoot meowed and the other warrior steeped in front of Rusty.

"You must be the kittypet that Tallstar was telling me about. As Deadfoot said, I'm known as Emberblaze. You don't have to be afraid of me".

Rusty nodded and then turned to face Deadfoot. "I have made my decision, I will join your clan". 

Deadfoot smirked lightly.

"Well then, let's be on our way. Tallstar will be looking forward to your arrival," he replied and flicked his tail for Rusty and Emberblaze to follow.

The calm breeze of late Green-leaf followed them as they ran faster into the territory of the moor. Rusty tried his best to keep up with the moor cats.

His breathing was becoming faster and stronger, his legs felt like they were becoming even more powerful than ever before.

It wasn't long before they reached WindClan's camp that was surrounded by gorse. 

"Alright then, I'll go first and you can go after me. But be careful when you're going through the gorse tunnel," Deadfoot meowed and without another word went into the tunnel.

Rusty then followed him with Emberblaze behind him. Carefully, Rusty went through the tunnel.

I wonder what will be waiting for me on the other side...

Finally, Rusty got to the end of the tunnel and was amazed at what he saw. The camp was beautiful, the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

"Nice, isn't it?" Rusty turned his head to the right to see Emberblaze sit down beside him. 

"I never thought it would look this beautiful, it must have taken such a long time to make your camp as nice as it is," Rusty replied.

Emberblaze nodded his head. "I'm sure when the clan gets used to you, maybe you could learn the legend and history of our clan. Until then, I believe it's time I show you around".

Emberblaze sat up and Rusty quickly followed him. Rusty soon saw the different dens, the warrior's den, the apprentice's den, and even the medicine cat den. I never knew that so many wild cats lived together in one clan!

"I saved the best dens for last," Emberblaze meowed and pointed to the largest den, "That's the nursery where new kits are born".

Rusty dashed ahead of Emberblaze and looked into the nursery. He was amazed even more by the sight of the kits playing with each other as a she-cat watched them.

Emberblaze soon came and looked into the den as well. "Aren't they wonderful? The one to the right is my step son, Onekit," he meowed pointing to the light brown tom playing with the younger kits.

"His real father sadly was killed by rouge when he was protecting Windclan's borders. Ever since, I've been a step father to him. It won't be much longer before he'll be an apprentice like you".

Rusty noticed that all the young kits in the nursery were his friends, but he didn't see any older kits that were Onekit's age. 

"Does Onekit have any siblings? Like any kits his own age?" 

Emberblaze became silent for a long time, there seemed to be a hidden sadness in his eyes. Did I say something wrong? 

"Hey Emberblaze!" both Rusty and Emberblaze turned to see a dark brown she-cat.

Emberblaze, no longer silent, turned to speak to her. 

"Wernflight, I'm glad to see you. I'd like to introduce you to Rusty, he's going to be joining us as a member of WindClan".

Wernflight looked at Rusty and grinned a light smile. "Well, it's nice to meet you. As you already know my name is Wernflight, I'm Onekit's mother," she purred.

Before he could speak, Emberblaze spoke. "Sorry Wernflight, we can't stay for long. I have to introduce Rusty properly to Tallstar, he'll be wondering where we are". 

Wernflight dipped her head in agreement. "Alright then, I'll see both of you later," she meowed and then disappeared into the nursery.

Emberblaze lead Rusty to a den that was shadowed by the huge rock on top of it. Is this Tallstar's den? I wonder how big it must be in there...

Suddenly the familiar black and white tom he saw the other day, came out from his den with Deadfoot at his side. Rusty knew that this had to be Tallstar.

Tallstar walked up to him and then bowed his head in greeting. "Deadfoot has told me how well you did to get here, he says that he has never met a kittypet as bold as you are," Tallstar meowed.

"Yes, I think he would make a good warrior over time," Emberblaze replied.

Tallstar then looked at Rusty with a friendly glance. "Are you ready to become part of the clan, Rusty?" Tallstar asked him. 

Rusty nodded. "It would be my honour to join your clan, Tallstar".

Without another word, Tallstar leapt from stone to stone to reach the top of his den and then spoke out for everyone to hear.

"Let all cats that are old enough to hunt on the moor, join me at the Tallrock," he yowled, cats of Windclan came quickly. Once everyone was sitting, Tallstar spoke.

"I have found a cat willing to join our clan, his name is Rusty". 

The cats of WindClan looked confused. "Who is he? Where did he come from? Wait, is he a kittypet?" a voice sounded above the yowls of questions.

Pushing through the crowd was a muscular dark brown tom, his amber eyes looked angry. 

"Tallstar, why have you brought a kittypet into the clan? You know better to let this fox-dung of a cat into the clan," he yowled pointing his tail to Rusty.

"Mudclaw!" Tallstar growled, silencing the tom. "I expect better from you as a warrior, now let me continue!" Mudclaw glanced angrily at Rusty and then went back into the crowd, mumbling under his breath.

"Rusty has proven himself to me that he has the heart of a warrior. But he will need to learn the ways of hunting and fighting as a WindClan cat".

Tallstar carefully made his way down from the Tallrock and went up to Rusty. The crowd backed away as Tallstar began to talk again.

"From this day forward, until you receive your warrior name, you shall be known as Blazepaw. Like a blaze carried on the wind, you will grow with each passing day," he meowed and the WindClan cats began to cheer his name.

"Blazepaw, Blazepaw!" He liked the name very much. He was no longer Rusty, but Blazepaw. When the cheers stopped, Tallstar spoke.

"Your mentor will be Emberblaze, may he show you the way to blaze brighter than anyone before us". The crowd cheered once last time as Blazepaw touched noses with his new mentor.

"I never thought I would be yours to train," Blazepaw whispered. 

Emberblaze chuckled. "Neither did I".


	5. The Rising Sun

"Blazepaw, wake up," he heard Emberblaze voice calling to him by his new name.

It was tricky getting used to it since he had once been known as Rusty. But his old life was over and a new one was beginning.

Upon opening his eyes, he saw Emberblaze standing at the entrance of the apprentice's den.

"What is it Emberblaze? The sun hasn't even risen from the sky yet," Blazepaw yawned and got up to his paws, walking to the entrance to meet him.

The older tom seemed amused by his tired speech. "With every apprentice I have ever trained, they always join me at the start of dawn to show them the territory".

Emberblaze then sat up, his tail moving around excitedly. "You may have seen some of it before you came to live in the clan, but it's time that I show you around all of WindClan's territory".

Hearing Emberblaze's speech somehow lit something deep in Blazepaw's heart.

Was it the call for adventure or was it the longing to know something that he never knew before?

Blazepaw nodded. "I'm ready. Ready to know everything you can teach me".

Emberblaze grinned. "Alright then, let's be off".

Without any more delay, Emberblaze lead Blazepaw out of the apprentice den and towards the camp entrance.

Outside, the air felt cold and crisp. It was a clear sign that Leaf-fall was coming soon. Only a few cats were up to face the chilly morning air.

Tallstar was talking outside of his den with Deadfoot by his side. Blazepaw couldn't hear what they were saying, but he could tell it wasn't very good news.

Without warning, Tallstar looked his way. It was as if he predicted that Blazepaw was trying to hear them.

Luckily, Blazepaw was able to look away in time to keep Tallstar from asking him what he was doing. He quickly joined Emberblaze's side, hoping he didn't notice.

"Tallstar caught you eavesdropping, didn't he?" Emberblaze meowed.

Dammit! How did he know? I thought he wasn't even watching me!

"No__I...," Blazepaw tried to lie, but couldn't due to Emberblaze's processing glare.

"Yes, I did!" Blazepaw finally said, admitting defeat, "But I just wanted to know what's been bothering Tallstar, he looks-"

"Enough," Emberblaze meowed sharply, quickly silencing Blazepaw. "Caring about someone is one thing, but eavesdropping? You're just going to give those naysayers what they want. Proof that you are as bad as other kittypets".

Emberblaze stopped and looked deep into Blazepaw's forest green eyes. "I know you can be better. You've got to show them that you have a heart of a warrior. When that day comes, they will respect you".

"Thanks, Emberblaze," Blazepaw meowed. The senior warrior smirked a small smile and lead Blazepaw out of the camp.

By the time they both got through the gorse tunnel, they were on the moor.

The sun had already risen and shone brightly on the tall grass that surrounded the landscape.

Blazepaw could feel the heat from the sun. It warmed his pelt and made him feel like he could stay on the moor forever.

As long as it was around, he knew the heat would chase away the chilly winds of Leaf-fall.

He could see that sun was reflecting off his mentor. He almost looked like the blazing cat from his dreams.

"The moor can be a wondrous place where countless apprentices have trained in these very fields to practice their speed and combat skills over many generations. You might as well be the first outsider that WindClan has took on to train as a full warrior apprentice," Emberblaze said, finally speaking after they had left camp.

"Really?" Blazepaw asked. Emberblaze nodded in reply.

"If you work hard with your heart showing you the way, I'm certain you'll become one of the finest warriors in WindClan".

"Alright then, teach me! Train me to fight like you, I'm ready to train," Blazepaw meowed and tried to show off his hunter's crouch.

Emberblaze chuckled. "Not today, I'm still showing every part of WindClan's territory. Remember?"

Blazepaw sighed. "Alright.."

They finally stopped running when they reached the large rock that Blazepaw remembered from his encounter with Morningpaw.

"Hey, Emberblaze? Does this huge rock have a name?" Blazepaw asked curiously.

"Ah, that would be Outlook Rock. From here you can see all over the moor. It's here that we also train our apprentices on sight. It's important especially when someday you might have the job of guarding the camp entrance".

They both walked onto the stone and then sat down close to the edge of Outlook Rock.

Emberblaze had not been wrong. Looking at the moor from the tall rock had given him an amazing view of the moor.

I never even knew how beautiful this place really is.

"Southwest from here would be Riverclan's territory. But that's past the most dangerous part of the gorge. No apprentice is allowed there until they have become a warrior," Emberblaze said, looking at the direction of falls, "It's much too dangerous".

"What about the forest?" Blazepaw asked, looking towards the endless amount of trees that were northwest, "I met some wild cats when I first came to the moor through that way".

"That would be Thunderclan, no Windclan cat is allowed to go there unless you're a medicine cat or leader like Tallstar. There has never been a warrior allowed to go there".

"Have you ever met one?" Blazepaw asked.

"A couple of times, mostly at gatherings," he said, leading Blazepaw away from Outlook Rock.

"Gatherings? What are those?"

"Those are the meetings that the clans have to share the news. It's also a chance for clan members from different clans to interact with different cats from other clans...".

Before Emberblaze could finish, he stopped, horrified, to see a dead rabbit that lay on the grass. The poor thing had been ripped to shreds. The blood bled onto the grass and a few bloodstained paw marks were nearby.

"This isn't good, we must return to camp immediately!" he said, a bit of panic was in his voice.

"Why are you so afraid?" Blazepaw asked. He was getting frightened by his mentor's fearful pale face.

Emberblaze looked at him with one serious glare. "We may have Shadowclan cats on our territory".


	6. Unsettling Fears

As soon as Blazepaw and Emberblaze made it back to camp, Emberblaze went to Tallstar to tell him about the discovery that they had made.

"This is unsettling," Tallstar said as Emberblaze finished speaking, "I've never imagined they would try this again after we warned them a couple of moons ago," Tallstar rasped and then turned to Deadfoot. 

"Get a group of senior warriors and sweep the moor for Shadowclan cats, we can't let this behavior continue".

Deadfoot nodded and walked towards the warrior's den. Tallstar then turned to Emberblaze again.

"I'll need you to guard the entrance to the camp. Get Mudclaw to help you with that. I can't allow any apprentice to leave the camp until I know we won't lead them into a hostile situation".

"Right away, Tallstar," Emberblaze repiled, dipping his head and left to find the grumpy warrior.

Before Tallstar could leave to his den, Blazepaw blocked his way to his den. Preventing Tallstar from entering is den

"What can I do?" Blazepaw asked.

Tallstar looked down at him and sighed. "Well..for now, stay in camp. I don't need any young cats going out on the moor if there are still Shadowclan cats on Windclan's territory".

"But what about my training with-".

"I SAID NO!" Tallstar hissed angrily. Making Blazepaw flinched back in fear.

Realizing his mistake, Tallstar flattened his ears. "I'm...sorry, I've been quite stressful with everything going on. Just promise me...you won't leave camp".

Blazepaw slowly nodded his head in agreement and Tallstar went around him to enter his den.

Not wanting to cause more trouble then he already had done. He decided it was best to head to the apprentice den until Emberblaze or Tallstar told him went he needed to do next.

"Hey! Blazepaw!" he heard the muffled cry of a younger cat.

Rusty turned his head to see Morningpaw coming towards him with a vole in her jaws.

Her cream coloured fur was lit in sun's light. He had to admit she was very beautiful.

When she finally reached him, she dropped it at his feet.

"I've been looking everywhere for you ever since I returned back to camp a half an hour ago. I caught this vole with Deadfoot since Tallstar was too busy to take me out," she said, "I wanted to share it with you".

"Thanks," Blazepaw said, taking a bite out of the vole. Surprisingly, it still tasted warm as he bit into it. He never had anything quite as good before.

"I was wondering, what do you know about ShadowClan?" he asked after swallowing his first bite.

"I haven't been to my first gathering yet, but I've heard there're quite shady. The other clans don't like them, but I know Windclan hates them the most. In recent moons they've been caught stealing prey on are territory".

Before Blazepaw could ask another question, both were shadowed by the large shape. They looked up to see Mudclaw.

Because of his dark brown colour, most saw him as a intimidating dark shadow when he blocked path of sunlight.

He glanced down at the vole that was almost finished and then looked at the two apprentices.

"Morningpaw, why are you eating prey with Blazepaw?" 

"I just wanted to share prey with him," she replied, "The elders didn't want it and he hasn't eaten all day since he was on an early patrol with Emberblaze".

The senior warrior looked at both of them and growled. "Fine, but you better go help the elders with their ticks before I tell Tallstar you've been eating prey before any of the older warriors have eaten. You should know by now that apprentices eat last after the vulnerable have eaten first".

Without any hesitation they both got up before Mudclaw could say anything and headed towards the medicine cat den.

"So that's why you're here," Barksong meowed as he attended to his herbs, listening to what Blazepaw and Morningpaw had told him.

"He's a big meanie if anything," Morningpaw added.

Barksong picked up another herb and moved it to another slab of rock. 

"Mudclaw is known to be fiercely loyal to the code, so I don't blame him. He gets some of that intimidated side of him from his father".

Barksong stopped organizing herbs and went to the back of his den and fetched some moss.

The smell of it wanted to make Blazepaw gag.

"This should do the trick for getting the ticks off the elders, just be careful which side of the the moss you pick up. It's not my fault if you end up tasting mouse bile".

Morningpaw dipped her head to Barksong. "Thanks, we'll make sure the job is done".

Morningpaw picked up the moss and lead the way to cross the clearing of the den towards the elder den.

The den was largely made of the same gorse that was used for the wall. Making it well protected if anyone tried to attack the camp.

"It's good to see you kits have come to help us with our flea problem," meowed a light brown she-cat.

Morningpaw let down the moss. "It's good to see you Mistmouse," she replied.

Blazepaw watched as Morningpaw gently rubbed her fur with the moss. He could see that flees were already jumping off her.

"Is it that time again?" a scruffy light brown tom meowed, yawning as he awoke.

The old tom blinked in surprise when he saw Blazepaw.

"Ah, you must be the young cat that Tallstar was talking about yesterday at the clan meeting, you hardly smell like a kittypet anymore".

"I'm Blazepaw, it's nice to meet you," he meowed.

The brown tom dipped his head. "Hareflight".

For the rest of the day, Blazepaw and Morningpaw worked together to rid the fleas from the two elders. 

Talking to them and learning about their young lives when they used to be the bravest Windclan warriors.

By the time the sun had disappeared from the sky, the two of them were exhausted and had finally rid the elders of fleas.

Emberblaze looked into the den and noticed them. "Hey, I thought I drop by to let you know you too can go back to your den now".

Morningpaw stretched her front legs and helped Blazepaw get to his paws.

"Thanks Emberblaze," Morningpaw yawned. Blazepaw helped kept her steady as he flanked her side.

"You know, I'm sure you are going to get along with Emberblaze just fine," Morningpaw said with a yawn, "He's pretty loyal to my mother".

"Wait you're Wernflight's daughter? I thought Onekit was her only kit," Blazepaw said, surprised by this revaluation.

"I'm one of her older kits. Me and-".

"Morningpaw," a grey she-cat whispered angrily in front of the apprentice den, "Where have you been? I was worried that one of those Shadowclan cats got you".

"I'm fine, Ashpaw. I'm just tired because I deadcated my whole day helping the elders. Blazepaw helped me".

Ashpaw gave Blazepaw a sceptical look and finally sighed. "Alright, let's just to bed then".

Blazepaw finally settled down into his nest, but couldn't help watching the two sisters from a distance.

It made him wonder what it would be like to have a sibling by your side to share your secrets with.

Looking at Morningpaw made him realize that there was something special about her that he couldn't quite guess what it could be.

Would this warm feeling linger or eventually fade away? Blazepaw wasn't quite sure.

All he knew that maybe someday he would understand his feeling he had for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Could this be the start of something new for Blazepaw? Find out in the next chapter of Blazing Wind!


End file.
